I’m Tired of “Experts” (They Are Not)By Admin

March 9, 2010

What the Frick! Where the living hell did all these “Speakers” come from?

Is everyone an expert on Jobs, Employment and such? Or even “Social Media”. A friend (who is in another field is speaking on Jobs). Another friend (in another field) is speaking on “Social Media” and your job search and reputation. Good lord! Leave the content to the experts, please. That is like asking me to speak on Mechanical Engineering because my College roommate was in Engineering School or to speak on the British Parliament because I attended Cambridge University (Prince Charles was in fact a classmate).

Let’s get some sense folks. Listen to experts and speak on topics you know. Just because your friends like what you say doesn’t mean you are an “Expert”. There is a guy with a blog speaking on employment (he has one year experience) and Social Media (he has 6 months experience) and is all over Facebook. He and some friends opened an online business that flopped in 60 days, but they were “Experts”.

“Expert” (Wikipedia) is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well-distinguished domain. An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive knowledge or ability based on research, experience, or occupation and in a particular area of study.

Seems that today all you need is a website and a few people who will buy you a lunch to be a speaker. Buyer beware. The roaches are out!

If you want a speaker on Employment and the Workplace of the future, ask someone who is in that professional space. Don’t ask your blogging buddy to speak on a topic they read about over the weekend.